The last time Saturn stepped on Donald Trump's Moon was less than two weeks before his dreary and demoralizing inaugural. He was humiliated, caught with his pants down as he tried to exaggerate his crowd numbers. Meanwhile, the Women's march drew millions nationwide. This was the first of many gaffes, and his administration got off to a rocky start. During the term of Saturn's transit of his natal Moon, his Mexican wall, anti-Islamic immigration bills, and the repeal of Obamacare were are squashed. Moreover, his cabinet was trashed by a media broadside and a relentless meme ridicule. The "resistance" to his presidency was in full swing. He had to crawl back under the protection of the Republican party he uses as a rubber stamp.

Starting in early July, Saturn came back in retrograde to take another swipe at his bubble, and the reality of his incompetence and contradictions are coming into full view. For the second time his trajectory was stopped in its tracks. Everything he says one day is regurgitated the next to mean the opposite. The elimination of Obamacare, like an open wound, seems to be harder to deal with than he thought.

Saturn isn't accelerating the gradual descent into financial crisis and political anarchy--that's Pluto's job; but Saturn is damn well raining on Trump's parade.

In the patois of astrology, a Saturn-Moon transit is called the "Bitter Lady" and implies a very adversarial situation. It's hard-hearted, inhibited, suspicious. Any false sense of security is stripped away, and feelings of loneliness, isolation and depression make us cling to hopeless, unwinnable situations and self-destructive practices. The only emotions we have left are low-self esteem, resentment and envy. A person going through this beating isn't going to be the life of the party, much less be able to successfully pursue a political agenda.

Odd-man-out at the G20 summit

Trump's magic with the media and ability to galvanize his followers depends on his own myth of his invincibility and confidence, but Saturn has been slowly hammering away at the image, making him withdrawal into an ever smaller circle of trusted confidants. Although still popular among his millions of followers, they haven't seen any progress, nor have any of their actual demands been addressed. His quixotic policy statements are so dualistic that even his handlers are confused. His recent grandstanding at the G20 summit and his attempts at reconciliation fell flat, and he was the odd man out among a veteran set of players who seem to have already discounted him and American power. Russia's Putin and Germany's Merkel seem to have run circles around him. Internationally, he's quickly becoming old news, a flash in the pan, an embarrassment--which must disappoint Trump if not his supporters. Some foreign media have actually labeled him a "mobster".

Transiting Saturn and Trump's natal Moon conjunct in 14 degrees Ophiuchus. This really amplifies the Ophiuchus fear of persecution and hope for renewal, two very predominant influences for those who have the goddess in their birth charts. Trump is a demagogue; a blunt and direct Taurus on his best days. His Moon in Ophiuchus gives him an ability to cast spells on the unwary, like a horny old wizard hypnotizing a crowd of bumpkins at the circus. Now, in the harsh light of the internet, working behind the scenes is impossible for him; all three times that Saturn crosses over Trump's Moon have put his weaknesses in the spotlight, and will subject his brand of boosterism to piercing scrutiny.

Was it not for this cloud over Trump's Moon, this would be a fortunate time for him. Trump will get a taste of the generosity of a Jupiter return in Virgo during August that will pump him up, part of a series of very lucky Jupiter connections in August. A Virgo Jupiter is a fixer, and Trump may actually appear to enjoy a tailwind. But there's stormy weather ahead. Any optimism may be slapped down again by Saturn a few weeks later. Most of Trump's first year of his presidency has been held hostage to this Saturnean triple-slap at the presidential ego, and he's not out of the woods until November. The final Saturn transit of Trump's Moon will start to apply at the end of August, go exact on September 27 and be active until mid-October. Trump won't be free of the dour influence of Saturn on his powerful Moon, upon which he depends to bamboozle his base, until Saturn enters Sagittarius on Nov. 19.

Just as the Saturn-Moon transit ends, a new, worse and more inhibiting Saturn-Sun opposition transit goes into high gear.

During the same buildup, Jupiter will trine his Sun and Uranus will bolster his Mars-in-Leo energy, so he might be able to bluster his way through. However, Jupiter could also inflate his confidence like a balloon, expanding his ego and his stomach. He could find himself having to backtrack from exaggerations as Saturn undercuts his empty boasts with hard facts.

The final phase of Trump's Saturn-Sun transit could really strike deep and personal, exhausting him and taking a physical as well as an emotional toll on him. Trump's Sun will get the Saturn treatment for over a month, from the middle of October to mid-November (right into the Mercury retrograde period). Stephanie Johnson says of this transit:

"Life seems like an endurance test during this transit. You feel tired, worn out and old as your list of jobs seems overwhelming in comparison with your time and energy. There may be delays in your projects or simply a feeling that the fruits of your current labors are hard to see right now. It is a time to ponder on your priorities and discard any tasks that may be blocking your path, while shouldering responsibility in the areas which are important. Meditation may be useful. Certainly it is a time to watch your diet and health."

Trump is not likely to heed any of this advice, and will double down and blame others for his own lack of purpose, loss of confidence and the take-down of his image.

What a terrible time for Trump's big ego as he embarks on a 14-day Asian trip that's bound to have negative repercussions!

The Sun represents the ego, and Saturn has a malefic influence on it in opposition, where by starts and stops, the full weight of the responsibilities and frustrations of his presidency start to crush him into an untenable position. It might even mean a physical breakdown, back problems, or a general malaise from which he cannot escape. Trump's tour of Asia during this slump, and his depressed state of mind and pitiful collection of shop-worn cliches will not go over well with his Asian counterparts, especially Chinese Premier Xi and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, both of whom have openly scoffed at the limits of American imperialism. Xi has recently reached a pinnacle of power, as his new 5-year plan for regional domination and world influence starts to materialize, along with the new alliances he is making with Russia, Iran, and others who now see China as the practical replacement for the failure of the US-controlled world economy and its impending melt-down. Many countries now see the gold-backed Chinese yuan as a alternative currency against the dollar. The Chinese face the consequences of their own financial bubble, and see expansion as the only way to avoid a melt-down of their overheated economy. The Philippines, Vietnam, and other Asian states all see which way the wind is blowing, and will have to realign their economic future with their regional giant, China.

A minor but very dangerous Neptune transit of Trump's Venus makes him very vulnerable to confusion, frustration and a pitiless reality exposing the true Trump and his relationship problems, which he has with almost everyone. Of course, scandal is his middle name, and his supporters have tended to overlook them in the past--when it was convenient for them. That Neptune is the planet of scandals and erosion of faith--and money, in the case of a Venus transit.

If you factor in the volatility of today's politics; the herd mentality of the mainstream media; the potential for military defeat in any of our far flung wars, (particularly Afghanistan); worsening global trade relations; and a deflationary dollar causing a hyperinflation of the cost of living, the possibilities for a major crisis seem imminent. Trump may be hard pressed to stay on top of the curve.

However, the Taurus in Trump will never let him quit. The consequences are worse, and with no real opposition from the hapless Democrats, the "sick man" of US politics, Trump may survive and go on to oversee the greatest financial crash, default and bankruptcy in history. Trump fills a void in American politics that was created by venality and greed, and that patina will stay with Trump until the end. The need is greater than ever for effective leadership, yet we'll not see any hope of change; Americans face the possibility of a Trump administration bloodied like a mortally wounded bull in the ring, kicking and trashing around, part of a global trend of failed states mired in corruption and fraud. The degree of success or failure for Trump in muddling through the gargantuan problems we face won't matter in the long run, Trump is essentially a placeholder in today's politics, since even if he knew what he was doing, he couldn't make it real. His own lack of substance, desperate isolation and peevish paranoia may spell more danger for Trump than any media backlash or attempts to disgrace him by his enemies. Trump is his own most dangerous enemy. He has nothing to give, nowhere to go, nobody to love him. He's a TV has-been that oversold himself and now must pay the piper.

Donald Trump's natal chart.

A Taurus native with a Ophiuchus Moon, he taps into the magic of mass appeal with a frank, outspoken simplicity. Trump's contradictory statements and Twitter tantrums are easily explained by his Mercury, Venus and Saturn in Gemini. Rather than the mark of the predator, Trump has his Leo Mars buried in the 13th house, closeted in a shroud of sexual secrecy that alienates him from humanity. Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in the 2nd house enable him to appear larger than life, seducing people to believe he possesses powers that far exceed his true capabilities. His Taurus planets are trine his Virgo, he's survived in public life so long because he's adaptable (for a Taurus, anyway). Trump's future is out of his hands; he's awakened a dragon of international opposition and his only weapons are the dollar and the drone, neither of which can measure up to the task of saving his presidency, or helping the country avoid a take-down of immeasurable consequences.

[These books are for 12-sign astrology; However, aspect and transiting angles are the same in all systems. Go to our Ophiuchus Rising page for the meanings of the angles, planets and asteroids in Ophiuchus]